Two farmers commit suicide in Tamil Nadu

March 27, 2016, 10:25 PM IST

Madurai: Two farmers, including an AIADMK local secretary, allegedly committed suicide due to crop failure and pressure from an agricultural cooperative society to repay loans taken to purchase farm machinery.

Police said Balraj (48) a farmer from Thoddappanayakanur and also a local AIADMK secretary, had planted flat beans in his five acre land, spending quite a sum of money. When the plants were about to flower, the well went dry.

He borrowed Rs 1.10 lakh and attempted to drill two borewells, but the wells failed to yield water.

Balraj then allegedly consumed pesticide and died yesterday, police said.

In the second incident, a farmer of Kotthangudi village in Thanjavur district allegedly committed suicide today by consuming pesticide as he was facing pressure from an Agricultural cooperative society to repay part of Rs seven lakh loan he had taken to purchase transplantation equipment.

The suicides comes just weeks after a farmer was beaten up by police in Tamil Nadu over non-payment of loan and another farmer committed suicide, upset over a private finance firm seizing his tractor to recover Rs two lakh dues and allegedly insulting and abusing him.

A video of the farmer being beaten up had gone viral, prompting National Human Rights Commission to take suo motu view of the incident. It had issued notices to the Chief Secretary and DGP, Government of Tamil Nadu, seeking reports within two weeks on the matter.